peterson



W. PETERSON.

' v SAFETY SUIT FOR AVIATORS.

APPLlCATlON man in. 1. I919.

1,325108. I Patented Bea-16,1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET I- j mzzmm Peter-son ewfifaikwk:

w. PETERSON, SAFE-TY SUIT FOR AVIATOBS. APPLICATI ON FIL ED FEB. H1919.

1,325,108. w Patented Dec. 16,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Swvewtoz 117i 2 2?; 0mm fete r5011 Clttmm Q1 W. PETERSON.

SAFE TY sun FOR AVIATORS. APPLICATION FILED FEBliI'I919u 1,325,108. I QPatented Dec.16,1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- 3140a nto z Z 21' 00% Peterson Witnesses wwww m ofwater.

UNITED STATES PATENT ornion.

WILLIAM PETERSON, OI NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

SAFETY-SUIT FOR AVIA'IOBS.

Application filed February 1, 1919. Serial No. 274,489.

To all whom it may concern: 7 v

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Pnrnnsou,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county ofEssex and State of New Jersey, have invented new and use- 7 fulImprovements in Safety-Suits for Aviators, of which the following is aspecification.

safety appliances for the use of aviators; and it consists in theaviators safety suit, hereinafter described and definitely claimed.

The object of my invention is to provide a comfortable and close-fittingsuit, designed to-be worn by an aviator and constructed and arranged insuch manner that it will not impede the movements of the upper portionofthe aviators body and his arms;while he is seated in an aeroplane,"and yet the event of it being necessary for the aviator means orrendering the suit buoyant in the event of the aviator dropping into abody Other objects and practical advantages of the invention will befully understood from the following detailed description,

considered in connection with the drawings,

accompanyin and forming part ofthis specification, 1n which:

Figure l is an elevation showing my novel suit as .the same appears whenthe aviator is standing upon the ground.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the suit and its appurtenances as thesame appear when an aviator has jumped from-an aero plane and isdescending through the air. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section of thebuoyant belt.

Fig. 4 is a detail showing one of the valves.

Fig. 5 is a detail section showing the helmet.

My present invention has to do with eluding parachute members, meanswhereby material. The said machine while in Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailsection showing the valves complementary to the lower parachutes.

Similar numerals of reference-designate corresponding parts in all ofthe views of the drawings.

My novel aviators suit 1 is preferably formed of waterproof material,and comprises a body 2, legs I 3 closed at their lower e1ids,arms.4=closed at their outer ends,

'and' a helmet 5, having an opening 6 in its forward portion, and joinedthrough a neck portion 7 with the upper portion of the body 2." The bodyis provided with a closure 8 of the general character coinmon to unionsuits, and in the preferred embodiment of-my invention the said closureis extended upwardly to the opening 6 in the helmet or headpiece 5.

In accordance with my invention, the

opening 6 of the helmet 5 .is guarded by a sheet 10 of appropriatetransparent materlal; the said sheet 10 being attached along .its loweredge to the front; of the helmet 5 below the opening 6 and being carriedupwardly to a point above the opening 6, where it is joined to the upperfront portlon of the helmet through the medium of textile material'll,which will permit the passage of ample air for the comfort of theaviator and yet will eifectually prevent the rush of air from seriouslyaflecting the aviator. It will also be readily apprec ated that thissafety provision will-enable the aviator to see without 'difiiculty.

sp m a onommn menu .Patented Dec.16, 1919. Y

Attached through guy lines l3 or thelike to'the helmet 5-is a parachute14,- of flexible parachute 14 is designed when not in use to hang at theback of the avlator so as to be entirely out of the way.

When however, the aviator jumps from his flight, the parachute isdesigned to assume the position shown in Fig.

movement of the aviator and at the same time enabling the aviator tofall. feet foremost and in an upright position. It will edge isconnected with the waist portion of D5 '2 with a view to retarding thedownward the suit 1 through the medium of guy cables 17.

Preferably arranged in the center of the 4 parachute 14. is a verticalconduit 18 for the passage of air. This conduit 18 is normally closedthrough the medium of a springpressed valve 19. The said valve 19 is connected to a cord 20, which extends downwardly and is connected to thebodyportion of the suit 1 at such point as to be within I convenientreach of the hand of the-aviator.

- parachutes and 26. These lower para- By virtue of this provision, itwill be manifest that the aviator is enabled, when he desires toaccelerate his descent, to draw upon the cable 20 and thereby open thevalve 19 against the action of its complementary spring so as to permitair to escape from under the upper parachute. It will also be apparentthat when the aviator releases the cable 20 the valve 19 will be firmlyclosed, so as to enable the upper parachute to more adequately check thedownward movement of the aviator.

Connected to the body portion 2 of the suit 1 are what I denominate thelower chutes 25 and 26 are formed of flexible material, and are joinedto the body portion of the suit in lapped relation. Said lowerparachutes 25 and 26 are adapted, when not in use, to rest snug againstthe lower portion of the suit. When, however, the aviator the guy cables27, which are interposed ber jumps from a machine into the air theparachutes 25 and 26 will assume the positions shown in Fig. 2 and willbe retained in said positions against the pressure of the air by tweenand connected to the said parachute members and the legs and bodyportion of the suit as shown. It will also be observed that each'of themembers 25 and 26 is provided with an-air escape conduit 27, controlledby a spring uided and normally pacity of the said members. It will alsobe apparent that by reason of the said lapped relation the member 25,when the parachute members are not in use, will drape over the member 26so as to contribute to the comfort of the aviator when he is seated inhis machine. By opening the valves in the members 25 and 26 the aviatoris enabled to permit the passage of air from under said members and inthat way enable himself to descend through theair in a steady manner andat the rate of speed desired.

Surrounding the waist portion of the suit 2 is a buoyant belt 30. Thisbuoyant belt may be? of the air-inflated type or may be filled with corkorlother highly buoyant material, and it has for its purpose, in theevent of the aviator falling into a body of water, to cooperate With theparachute members 25 and 26 in maintaining the upper portion of theaviators body above thesurface of the water. In this connection, thelapped relation of the parachute members 25 and 26 is important,inasmuch as it enables the members 25 and 26 to rest where they arelapped on the surface of the water, with the result that the aviator isadequately supported in the water.

By reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings, it will be observed thatnotwithstanding the appurtenances provided upon my novel suit,

for-the manipulation of the machine; and it will also be noted that thehands of the aviator are not covered. On the other hand, the closures ofthe sleeves 4 of the suit are effected around the wrists of the aviator.

At 40 in Fig. 2 are panels of suitable transparent material, calculatedto enable the aviator to see through the lower parachutes incidental toa descent.

Notwithstanding the practical advantages hereinbefore ascribedto mynovel suit, it

will be readily appreciated that the suit is simple and inexpensive inconstruction and is not liable to interfere in any measure with theperformance of the duties of the aviator while he is seated in andcontrolling the movements of his machine. Having described my invention,what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Safety means for aviators comprising a close-fitting suit, havinglegs, arms," and a helmet, with an opening in its front portion, atransparent layer connected to the helmet below the face openingtherein, porous material interposed between and connected to saidtransparent layer and a helmet above the face opening, a parachuteadapted, when opened, to rest above the helmet, and, when not in use, tohang from the helmet; the said parachute being connected with the helmetthrough the medium of guy cables and ber ing provided with an air-escapeconduit and a normally closed spring-pressed valve for controlling saidconduit, a valve-opening cable extending from said valve to a point onthe body of the suit, a buoyant belt carried by the suit and surroundingthe waist portion thereof lower parachute members the arms of theaviator are left entirely free having their inner portions arranged inlapped relation and connected to the waist portion of the suit, and eachhaving a conduit for the escape of air, and'a normally closedspring-pressed valve for closing said conduits, guy cables interposedbetween the lower parachute members and the lower portion of the suit,and cables connected to ingupwardly from the point of connection, thevalves of the lower parachute members and porous material interposedbetween and 10 and extending to points on the suit within connected tothe upper ortion of the transconvenient reach of the wearer. 7 parentlayer and the he etat a point above 2. An aviat'ors safety device,comprising the opening therein.- a helmet or head-piece, having anopening In testimony whereof I have afiixeci .my

in its front, a transparent layer connected signature. to the helmetbelow the opening and extend- WILLIAM PETERSON.

